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THE 



LIFE AND VOYAGES 



OP 



VERRAZZANO 



FROM THE 



NINETY-SEVENTH NUMBER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN 
REVIEW. 






CAMBRIDGE: 
FOLSOM, WELLS, AND THURSTON 

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY. 

1837. 



.%-\ 



Delle JSTavigazioni et Viaggjy raccolte da M. Giovam- 
Battista Ramusio, IV. vol., fol. ; Venezia, appresso 
i Giunti ; (torn. iii. mdlxv., mdcvi.) 



A note at the first part of the twentieth page of the First Volume of 
Mr. Bancroft's learned and elegant History of the United States, suggest- 
ed the idea of the following paper. The Strozzi Library, there spoken 
of, is no longer in existence; but the manuscripts of that collection 
passed into the hands of the Tuscan government, and were divided be- 
tween the Magliabecchian and Laurentian libraries of Florence. The 
historical documents were deposited in the former. Among them was 
the cosmographical uarration of Verrazzano, mentioned by Tiraboschi, 
upon the authority, as we should suppose, of Felli, and which Mr. Ban- 
croft expresses a desire to see copied for the Historical Society of New 
York. It is contained in a volume of Miscellanies, marked " Class XIH. 
Cod. 89. Verraz. " ; and forms the concluding portion of the letter to 
Francis the First, which is copied at length in the same volume. It is 
written in the common running hand of the sixteenth century, (carrattere 
corsivo,) tolerably distinct, but badly pointed. The whole volume, which 
is composed of miscellaneous pieces, chiefly relating to contemporary 
history, is evidently the work of the same hand. 

Upon collating this manuscript with that part of the letter which was 
published by Ramusio, we were struck with the differences in language, 
which run through every paragraph of the two texts. In substance there 
is no important difference, except in one instance, where by an evident 
blunder of the transcriber hianchissimo is put for hronzina. There is 
somethinoj so peculiar in the style of this letter, as it reads in the manu- 
script of the Magliabecchian, that it is impossible to account for its varia- 
tions from Ramusio, except by supposing that this editor worked the 
whole piece over anew, correcting the errors of language upon his own 
authority.* These errors indeed are numerous, and the whole exhibits a 
strange mixture of Latinisms and absolute barbarisms, with pure I'uscan 
words and phrases. The general cast of it, however, is simple and not 
unpleasing. The obscurity of many of the sentences is in a great meas- 
ure owing to false pointing. 

The cosmographical description forms the last three pages of the let- 
ter. It was doubtless intentionally omitted by Ramusio, though it would 
be difficult to say why. Some of the readings are apparently corrupt; 
nor, ignorant as we are of nautical science, was it in our power to correct 
them. There are also som.' slight mistakes, which must be attributed to 
the transcriber. 

A letter, which follows that of Verrazzano, gives, as it seems to us, a 
sufficient explanation of the origin of this manuscript. It was written by 
a young Florentine, namt'd Fernando Carli, and is addressed from Lyons 
to his father in Florence. It mentions the arrival of Verrazzano at 
Dieppe, and contains several circumstances about him, which throw a 
new though still a feeble light upon some parts of his history, hitherto 

* He did so also wiih the triinjlation of Marco Polo. See Apostolo Zeno, Annot. alia 
Bib. Ital. del Fontanini. Tom. II. p. 300 ; ed. di Paima. 1804. 



4 Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 

wholly unknown. It is by the discovery of this letter, that we have been 
enabled to form a sketch of him, somewhat more complete than any 
which has ever yet been given. 

The history of both manuscripts is probably as follows. Carli wrote 
to his father, thinking, as he himself tells us, that the news of Verrazza- 
no's return would give great satisfaction to many' of their friends in 
Florence. He added at the same time, and this also we learn from his 
own words, a copy of Verrazzano's letter to the king. Both his letter and 
his copy of Verrazzano's were intended to be shown to his Florentine 
acquaintances. (Copies, as is usual in such cases, were taken of them ; 
and to us it seems evident that, from some one of these, the copy in the 
Magliabecchian manuscript was derived. The appearance of this last, 
which was prepared for, if not by, some individual fond of collecting 
miscellaneous documents, is a sufficient corroboration of our statement. 

The libraries of Florence contain nothing further relative to Verraz- 
zano. We have examined the Magliabecchian, the Laurentian, the 
Palatine, and that of the Academy of Fine Arts. 

Neither could we discover any thing concerning him, among the 
printed works of the Riccardian. The arrangement of the miscellaneous 
manuscripts in this last, of which there is no index, made it impossible to 
ascertain any thing with regard to their contents, without carrying our 
researches further than circumstances would warrant. The private libra- 
ries to which we have had access are equally deficient in all notices of 
this unfortunate man ; and Ramusio was doubtless in the right, when he 
said, that all but the letter to Francis had been lost. 

As the family of Verrazzano has but recently become extinct, it was 
natural to suppose, that the best chance for discovering something more 
complete, or more positive, concerning the existence of other documents, 
would be by ascertaining what was contained in the family library. This 
we were enabled to do, by the kindness of the gentleman by whom it was 
arranged previous to its being sold, and whose passion for bibliography 
had led him to examine every part of it with minute attention. All, how- 
ever, that was found in it relative to Giovanni, was a manuscript bound 
up in the family copy of Ramusio, and a few loose papers. These last add 
nothing to what was already known. The former was purchased by 
Captain Napier, R. N.,and is now in England. We presume that it is 
nothing more than a copy of the abovementioned cosmographical descrip- 
tion, or perhaps of the whole letter, from the Magliabecchian manuscript. 
Should the present paper chance to meet the eye of Captain Napier, we 
trust that his well-known passion for Italian history will lead him to 
favor the public with a description of his manuscript, if, contrary to what 
we have reason to believe, it contains any notices as yet unpublished. 



Giovanni Verrazzano, the details of whose life, so far as 
they can be gathered, will form the subject of the present pa- 
per, was born of Pier Andrea da Verrazzano and Fiammetta 
Capelli, both citizens of Florence. Conjecture, as to his his- 
tory, commences with his infancy ; and it is only by a process 
of probable reasoning, that we can arrive at any conclusion even 
with regard to the year of his birth. The line of his ancestry 
is better known, and has been traced with a certain degree of 
evidence to an early part of the Middle Ages. Nor will it be 



Life and Voyages of Vcrrazzano. 6 

uninteresting to add, that the fanaily continued to our own 
day, having become extinct in the person of the Cavalier 
Andrea da Verrazzano, who died at Florence in the year 1819. 

A highly probable conjecture of Pelli places his birth about 
the year 14S5.* That his education was not neglected, is 
evident from his subsequent career ; nor would it be going loo 
far to say, that it must have corresponded in some respects to 
the rank and pretensions of a family, which counted among 
its ancestors some of the most distinguished men of the re- 
public. However this may be, it would seem certain that 
the passion for adventure, to which he is indebted for his 
reputation, was manifested at an early period of his life.. 
He resided several years at Cairo ; but at what epoch, and for 
what purpose, cannot now be ascertained with certainty, al- 
though there can be but little doubt, that it was in the course 
of tliose commercial speculations, which led the Italians to 
establish themselves wherever these aims could be prosecuted 
to advantage. Whether also his travels in Egypt and in Syria 
were excursions made for the gratification of his curiosity, or 
in quest of gain ; and whether they had any connexion with 
his residence at Cairo, or were undertaken at a previous or at 
a subsequent period, are questions, which, in order to refrain 
from venturing too far beyond the legitimate bounds of histor- 
ical conjecture, we are constrained to pass over in silence. It 
is evident, however, from several allusions and comparisons in 
his letter to Francis, that, whatever may have been the nature 
of his travels by land, he had made more than one voyage in 
the Mediterranean ; and the rank to which he had attained in 
the service of France, as early as the year 1523, would nat- 
urally lead us to suppose, that these voyages had been attended 
with a certain share of success and distinction. How else 
can we account for his having been chosen, in an age that 
abounded with bold and skilful adventurers, to direct the first 
effort made by France in the career of maritime discovery } 

But such has been the fortune of Verrazzano, that here, 
where light first begins to break in upon his history, we find 
ourselves involved in a new question, with which the careless- 

' Non essendo nato Giovanni nel 1480, al tempo dell' ultimo catasto, 
non vedervisi in quello date in pnrtata dal Padre col restante della 



• " Non essendo nato Giovanni nel 1480, al tempo dell' ultimo catasto, 
?r non vedervisi in quello dato in pnrtata dal Padre col restante della 
imiglia, e per crederlo in etk capace di giandi imprese nel 1524, si potra. 
Lgiorievolmente dire nato circa il 14So." — El ogj dcgli Must. Tuscani. 



per 

famigHa, 
ragionev' 
Tom. II. No. 30 



6 Life and Voyages of Ferrazzano. 

ness of a modern hisioriaii has encumbered a path already 
sufficiently intricate and obscure. 

It has been confidently asserted, that Verrazzano made 
three voyages of discovery in the service of France. The 
first is said to have taken place in 1523 ; and the second in 
the following year. Of the third we shall have occasion to 
speak more fully in the sequel of our paper. 

The supposition of the first voyage is founded upon the 
opening paragraph of his celebrated letter to the king of 
France. The author of this supposition is Charlevoix, who, 
as he quotes from Ramusio, would not seem to have derived 
his information from any other text of the letter of Verrazzano, 
than the copy which we still read in the collection of that 
editor. In this, according to the French historian, Verrazza- 
no, supposing Francis to have been already informed of the 
success and the details of his voyage, simply states, that he 
had sailed from the port of Dieppe with four vessels, which 
he had succeeded in bringing back in safety to the same port ; 
from whence, continues Charlevoix, he started once more, in 
the month of January, 1525, upon a predatory excursion 
against the Spanish.* 

If, however, we turn to the letter of Verrazzano, we shall 
find that it reads very differently from the account thus given 
of it. He says, that, after the tempest which he had encoun- 
tered on the northern coast, he had not written to the king 
concerning the vessels sent out upon discovery, supposing 
him to have been already informed of the manner, in which 
he had been impelled by the violence of the winds to take 
shelter in Brittany, with only two ships, the Dolphin and the 
Normandy ; that he had there made the necessary repairs ; 
that he had then made a predatory excursion along the coast 
of Spain ; and, finally, that by a new arrangement, of which, 
also, he supposes the king to have been already informed, he 
had resolved to continue the first voyage with the Dolphin 
alone. 

* See Charlevoix, T. I. p. 41. We would here correct a sliglit error, 
which has inadvertently dropped from the pen of]\:r. Bancroft. This gen- 
tleman says, (Hist, of the U. Slates, Vol. I. p. 37,) that "the Italian [Verraz- 
zano] parting from a fleet, which had pursued a gainful commerce in the 
ports of S|)ain," &c. Verrazzano's own words are ; " ^vra, V. M. ivteyo il 
discorso fncemmo con quelle armate in gucrra per li lidi di Spagna," &c.; 
Charlevoix, " pour alltr en course." This of course was not commerce, nor 
would the war which was then raging between their respective nionarchs, 
admit of any amicable intercourse between France and Spain. 



Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 7 

It will here be seen that Verrazzano, so far from saying any- 
thing of his having returned to Dieppe, explicitly states, that 
he had been driven by the wind into a port of Brittany. The 
assertion of Charlevoix, therefore, that Verrazzano had suc- 
cessfully led his fleet back to Dieppe, is a flat contradiction of 
the passage which he cites. Thus the proof of the first voyage 
of Verrazzano is reduced to the first line of the paragraph in 
question, and the words seguire la prima navigazione ("con- 
tinue the first voyage "), at the close of the same paragraph. 
After an attentive consideration of the whole passage, we have 
been unable to discover any thing in the language of it, which 
can justify the opinion of Charlevoix. Tiraboschi, with his 
usual acuteness, suggests that the voyage given out by the 
French historian as completed, may have been undertaken 
merely, and interrupted by the tempest alluded to in the para- 
graph which we have cited.* This suggestion, to which Ti- 
raboschi was led by his critical sagacity alone, is confirmed by 
a passage in the letter of Carli, who says, that when Verraz- 
zano was driven back by the tempest, he was abandoned by 
one of his Florentine companions. The explanation of the 
whole paragraph is thus rendered natural and easy ; and we are 
justified in concluding that the voyage actually accomplished 
by Verrazzano was, inasmuch as discovery was concerned, 
the continuation of an undertaking, whose commencement 
dated further back than his departure from near the island of 
Madeira.! 

We are at length upon sure ground. Verrazzano has told 
his own story, and with that unaffected simplicity which never 
fails to command belief. He sailed from a desert rock, near 
the island of Madeira, on the 17lh of January, 1524, in the 
ship Dolphin, provisioned for eight months, well armed, and 

* " Ma forse il primo fu solo tentato ed impedito dalla burrasca." Tira- 
boschi, Tom. VII. par. 1, p. 261. 

t We subjoin the original paragraph, for the satisfaction of such of our 
readers, as may wish to examine the point for themselves. " Da poi la for- 
tuna passata nelle spiagge settentrionali, Serenissimo Signore, non scrissi 
a vostra serenissima e cristianissima Maesta, quello che era seguito delli 
quattro legni, che quella mando per lo oceano ad iscoprir nuove terre, 
pensando di tutto sia stata certificaia come dalle impetuose forze de' venti 
fummo costretti, con sola la nave Normanda e Delfina afflitti, ricorrere in 
Brettagna, dove restauraii, avrk V. S. M. inteso il discorso facemmo con 
quelle armate in guerra per li lidi di Spagna, di poi la nuova disposizione 
con sola la Delfina in seguire la prima navigazione, dalla quale essendo 
ritornato, daro adviso a V. S. M, di quello abbiamo trovato," 

We have followed in this extract tha Magliabecchian manuscript. 



8 Life and Voyages of Ferrazzano. 

provided with those articles which experience had shown to 
be of value in an intercourse with the natives of tiie west. 
The Dolphin is described as but a caravel in burden ; but this 
was an age in which the success of bold enterprises seems to 
have been calculated rather by the character of the men who 
conducted them, than by the fitness and extent of the means 
employed for their accomplishment. 

Starting with the favor of a light but constant wind, he 
stretched boldly to the westward, with a slight northerly 
inclination in his course, and in the first twenty-five days 
had already sailed eight hundred leagues. On the 24th of 
February, he was assailed by a violent tempest, which his 
crowded caravel could hardly have weathered, unless guided 
by a bold and experienced mariner. For twenty-five days, 
more he held his way with unwavering constancy, although 
evidently less favored by the wind, for in all this time he ac- 
complished but half the distance of his first run. At length 
he came within sight of land, a long line of low coast stretch- 
ing to the southward as far as eye could reach, and lighted by 
the blaze of innumerable fires. His first impulse was to land ; 
and, after a fruitless search for some convenient harbour, he 
cast anchor off the shore, and landed in his boat. As he 
drew nigh to the beach, the timid natives hastily fled, stopping, 
however, from time to time, to gaze with expressions of savage 
wonder at their strange visitants. Curiosity soon got the bet- 
ter of their apprehensions ; and, encouraged by the signs and 
gestures of the seamen, they returned towards, them with de- 
monstrations of wild delight, amazed at their dress and aspect, 
and eagerly pressing forward to point out the best place for 
landing. Nor was there less in the appearance of the natives, 
to excite the admiration of the Europeans. Naked, except 
at the waist, which was covered with skins and girdles of 
grass, interwoven with the tails of various animals, and at the 
head, which some wore decked with garlands of feathers, the 
darkness of their skins and of their thick hair seems to have 
set oflT, to the eyes of Verrazzano, their fine forms and striking 
features. He was strongly reminded of the East ; and traced 
out a resemblance between the natives of the two countries, 
which subsequent observations have partially confirmed. This 
first interview was confined to expressions of mutual wonder, 
and nothing occurred on either side to interrupt the harmony 
of the parties. 



Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 9 

Pursuing his course northward, he continued to note with 
care every thing that the nature of his situation allowed him 
to observe. Not far from his first landing-place, he remarked 
another tribe, which, as near as he could judge, resembled 
the former in situation and appearance. The shore was cov- 
ered with a fine sand, which formed a beach of nearly fifteen 
feet in breadth, and broken by small hillocks. Further on, 
the coast was indented with inlets and arms of the sea, and 
assumed, as he continued to advance, a richer and more win- 
ning aspect. Broad fields spread their verdant treasures be- 
fore him ; and woods, more or less dense, displayed the vari- 
egated foliage of our American forests. He seems to have 
been overpowered with the beatity of the scene, and at a loss 
for words to describe it. "Think not," says he, "that they 
are like the Crimean forests, or the solitudes of Scythia, or 
the rigid coasts of the North, but adorned with palm trees, 
and cypress, and laurel, and species unknown to Europe, 
which breathe forth from afar the sweetest of odors." Nor 
is it surprising that his kindling imagination should have filled 
them with spices and aromatic liquors, and discovered traces 
of gold in the very color of the soil. The lakes and ponds 
of fresh water gave a new charm to the scenery, and his eye 
was caught with the wild fowl of various species that hovered 
around them. A mild and temperate climate, a serene sky, 
rarely and transiently tainted with vapors, and constantly re- 
freshed by gende western breezes, complete the enchanting 
picture which he has drawn of this region ; while a smooth 
sea, with a clear and tenacious bottom, seemed to combine 
security for the mariner with all the charms that attract the 
landsman. 

The coast now verged more decidedly to the west. Yet 
no harbour was to be seen, and in order to obtain a supply of 
fresh water, of which he began to feel the want, Verrazzano 
was constrained to make one more attempt to land in his boat. 
He approached the shore, but could not reach it ; for the 
waves, rolling in with unbroken fury upon the open beach, 
rendered all access impracticable. To add to his embarrass- 
ment, the natives had assembled upon the beach, and seemed 
to invite him to land, with amicable gestures and expressions 
of curiosity and amazement. In order to make some reply to 
these friendly demonstrations, he ordered one of his men to 
swim as nigh to the shore as he dared, and endeavour to con- 
2 



10 Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 

vey to the natives some of the toys which he thought would 
prove most acceptable to them. The sailor succeeded in 
conveying his precious burden to those for whom it was des- 
tined ; but, in endeavouring to return to the boat, was over- 
powered by the breakers and thrown breathless upon the sand. 
No sooner did the natives perceive his danger, than, hasten- 
ing to his assistance, they drew him from the water, and rais- 
ing him by the arms and legs, carried him higher up the beach. 
At this moment he recovered from his swoon, and becoming 
aware of his situation, began to cry aloud for help. To this 
the savages replied with cries no less vehement, and which 
probably would not have gone far towards removing his fears, 
if their actions had not speedily given him the best warrant of 
their good intentions. Placing him gently upon the ground, 
at the foot of a small hillock, they seemed for a moment to be 
lost in admiration of the whiteness and delicacy of his skin. 
A fire was soon kindled ; and, while his terror-stricken com- 
panions were every moment expecting to see him devoured 
under their very eyes, the kind-hearted natives proceeded to 
warm and restore him by its blaze. The impression which 
this act made upon Verrazzano and his crew may be easily 
imagined. We wish we could say, that it was properly re- 
warded. But many admire what they could never perform, 
and civilized man seems to have devised laws for his own 
guidance, of which he is unwilling to extend the advantage to 
barbarians. 

Fifty leagues further to the North, Verrazzano again 
landed, and succeeded in penetrating nearly two leagues into 
the interior, with about twenty of his crew. The natives had 
fled to their forests ; but two, a young woman and an old one, 
less fortunate than the rest, were overtaken by the Europeans. 
The beginning of the interview was friendly, the latter offer- 
ing them food, which was gladly accepted by the elder, but 
contemptuously rejected by her companion. The kidnapping 
of savages was too common an event to excite even a passing 
remorse in the mind of a seaman of that age ; and the occa- 
sion thus presented, too tempting to be neglected. They 
seized, therefore, upon the girl, and taking at the same time a 
boy of about eight years, who was hanging at the back of the 
old woman, began to retrace their steps towards the sea. 
Fortunately for the young savage, they were at a distance 
from the boat, and their way lay through woods, which 



Life and Voyages of Verrazzano, 1 1 

increased both the danger and difficulty of their return. Nor 
was the girl disposed to submit tranquilly to her captors, but 
by the violence of her cries, and by her vigorous resistance, 
showed them, that it is often easier to attempt, than to accom- 
plish an injustice. At last, wearied with the fruitless struggle, 
and perhaps not wholly free from the apprehension of danger 
from the natives, they released her and contented themselves 
with their less troublesome, though less valued prize, the 
boy.* 

The remarks which Verrazzano made upon this part of the 
coast, and which were collected during the three days that 
his ship lay at anchor off the shore, give a favorable idea of 
his habits of observation, although they contain nothing which 
would now be thought worth preserving. We shall venture, 
however, to follow him on his visit to the harbours of New 
York and Newport. 

A northwesterly course, which he pursued without varia- 
tion for a hundred leagues, sailing only during the day and 
casting anchor at night, soon brought him to the shores of 
New Jersey. He here came upon a beautiful spot, situated 
among hills, through which a vast river rolled its waters 
towards the ocean. There was water enough, at its mouth, 
for a ship of any burden ; but he resolved to try the passage 
first in his boat. Rowing cautiously forward, he was soon 
met by the natives, who, far from giving any signs of fear, 
advanced towards him with joyful gestures and shouts of ad- 
miration. Numbers also were hastening over from the oppo- 
site shore, and eagerly pressing forward to catch a sight of 
the strangers. But, in the midst of this novel scene, the wind, 
suddenly rising, began to blow with great violence ; and be- 
fore he had penetrated beyond half a league into the beautiful 
lake (bellissimo lago)^ which seemed so inviting, he was 
compelled to return to his ship, and, weighing anchor, take his 
course eastward. 

He passed Block Island, which struck him by its resem- 
blance to the Island of Rhodes. This is the only spot which 
he speaks of as having named. He called it Louisa, in honor 
of the mother of his patron. Fifteen leagues more brought 
him to the harbour of Newport. He had not yet entered 
the port, when his vessel was surrounded by nearly thirty 

*This boy reached France in safety, as appears from the letter of 
Carli ; but we know not what became of him afterwards. 



12 Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 

canoes, filled with wondering savages. At first, none ven- 
tured to approach the ship ; but, stopping at the distance of 
about fifty paces, they sat gazing in silent admiration at the 
strange objects, which had thus risen like magic before them. 
Then of a sudden, giving vent to their feelings, they broke 
out into a long shout of joy. The seamen, on the other hand, 
did all they could to win their confidence, and soon succeeded 
in alluring them sufficiently near, to catch the beads and bells 
and such like toys, which were thrown to them. At sight of 
these, every apprehension vanished, and, smiling as they con- 
templated them, they drew nigh and entered the ship. 
Among them were two kings, whose forms, if we may trust 
Verrazzano, were of the finest mould. One seemed to be 
about forty, the other, twenty-four years of age. The elder 
was arrayed in a robe of deer skins, skilfully wrought with 
rich embroidery. His head was bare, with the hair carefully 
tied behind. His neck was adorned with a large chain, set off 
with various-colored stones. The dress of the younger was 
nearly the same. The appearance of the people corre- 
sponded to the fine make of their sovereigns. Their com- 
plexion was remarkably clear ; their features regular ; their 
hair long, and dressed with no ordinary degree of care ; their 
eyes black and lively ; their whole aspect pleasing, and bear- 
ing a striking resemblance to that cast of countenance, which 
distinguishes the busts of the ancients. In short, to borrow the 
language of the discoverer, " they were the most beautiful 
and genteel mannered people he had met with in all his voy- 
age." Nor do the females seem to have appeared less lovely 
and winning, and, though viewed only at a distance, to have 
made a less favorable impression upon our mariners. Like 
the men, they were in part naked, and in part attired in highly 
ornamented skins. Their hair was studiously decked with 
ornamental braids, which were left free to fall upon the breast. 
Some wore rich skins upon their arms, and a certain distinc- 
tion of dress seems to have been observed by those of dif- 
ferent ages and conditions ; for the more advanced in years 
wore their hair like the females of Syria and of Egypt, and 
those who were married were distinguished by variously 
formed pendants in their ears. The natives seem moreover 
to have been fully sensible of the charms of their females ; for, 
although repeatedly asked and even urged to allow them to 
enter the ship, they could never be prevailed upon to consent, 



Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 13 

or trust them within reach of the Europeans. So that, while 
the males were amusing themselves on board, their wives and 
daughters were constrained to wait for them in their canoes, 
and could only gratify their curiosity by a distant view. 

During a stay of more than fifteen days, Verrazzano con- 
tinued his observations upon the country and its inhabitants. 
With regard to the latter, besides the qualities of which we 
have already spoken, he was particularly struck with their 
total ignorance of the value of gold, and the preference which 
they gave to beads and toys over more costly and useful ob- 
jects. He made several excursions up Narragansett Bay, and 
examined it with considerable attention. To those who have 
traced the windings of its lovely shores, his rapturous descrip- 
tions will hardly seem exaggerated ; and, although the Indian 
canoe no longer sports upon its waters, and the woods which 
shaded its main land and islands have given place to the 
corn-field and the neat cottage of the husbandman, yet the 
eyes that have dwelt on them through the first years'^ of life, 
will scarcely fail to recognise, even in their present form, the 
original outlines of his glowing picture. 

His voyage was now drawing to a close. On the 6th of 
May, he bade adieu to the friendly natives of Rhode Island, 
and, coasting along towards the north, explored, without land- 
ing, an extent of two hundred leagues. The spot, where he 
now cast anchor, seemed the reverse of all those which he 
had hitherto visited. The woods were dense, and filled with 
the trees of a colder climate ; the soil barren, or barely yield- 
ing a scanty supply of roots. The inhabitants, also, clothed 
in the skins of wolves and bears, seemed to share in the 
rugged nature of the land in which they dwelt. They re- 
pulsed every attempt at friendly intercourse, and held no 
further communication with the ship than was necessary, in 
order to secure the exchange of some of their own commod- 
ities for the hooks and knives and sharpened steel of the 
strangers. Nor did they go to the ship or suffer the seamen 
to land to carry on their bargain ; but, standing upon the 
rocks, they passed the articles of exchange backwards and for- 
wards by a long cord, and, as soon as the trade was completed, 
hastened back to their woods. In spite of this threaten- 
ing reception, Verrazzano landed, penetrated several miles 
into the country, examined some of the huts of the natives, 
and succeeded in forming some idea of their condition and 



14 Life and Voyages of Verrazzano, ^ 

manner of life. On his return, they followed close upon his 
track, discharging their arrows, and venting their hostility in 
wild cries of impotent rage. 

Leaving this inhospitable shore, the intrepid navigator still 
continued onward, following the line of the coast, till within 
nearly the fiftieth degree of northern latitude. Thirty-two 
islands, all lying near to the shore, were discovered in the 
course of fifty leagues. The ports and passages, formed by 
their juxtaposition, reminded him of the Adriatic along the 
coast of Dalmatia. His provisions now began to fail, and a 
broad space of unknown sea still separated him from France. 
The object of his voyage had been in a great measure ac- 
complished. He had discovered above seven hundred leagues 
of a new world, and held sufficient communication with the 
inhabitants to enable him to form some idea of their state and 
character. Yielding to these considerations, he bore away for 
Europe. His passage w^as prosperous ; and he entered the 
port of Dieppe early in the month of July, 1524, about five 
months and a half from the day of his departure from the rock 
near Madeira. 

He now hastened to transmit to the king a full narrative of 
his voyage. This forms the celebrated letter to Francis First, 
the only authentic document concerning Verrazzano, which 
has reached us. And Ramusio, to whom we are indebted for 
the preservation of it, says, that, even in his time, nothing else 
relative to him could be found, all having perished during the 
last fatal wars of Florence. Enough, however, is contained 
in this letter, to give a general idea of the character of the 
writer, and enable us to form a tolerable estimate of his quali- 
fications for the hazardous career in which he was engaged. 

That he was possessed of the first and most important of 
these, firmness and modest courage, is sufficiently evident 
from the whole tenor of his narrative. And the tone of this 
production is so peculiar and so strikingly characteristic, that 
the author, without once speaking of himself, and without 
seeking, either directly or indirectly, to give weight to his 
own acts and opinions, leaves upon the mind of the reader a 
distinct and lively impression of the superiority of the individ- 
ual, whose exploits he is studying. He was occasionally led 
away by the prevailing passion of the age, and predisposed to 
discover qualities in the soil and nature of the countries he 
discovered, which were not always warranted by the actual 



Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 15 

appearance of them ; yet there is a general ah' of exactness in 
his remarks, and a tact in seizing upon the most striking fea- 
tures in the aspect as well of the country as of its inhabitants, 
which would justify us in attributing to him no common pow- 
ers of observation. He makes no attempts at combining his 
scattered remarks into a systematic description, — that species 
of combination which affords the best proof of a philosophic 
mind, when supported by a broad basis of facts, and of a su- 
perficial one, when that basis is neglected. There are only 
one or two instances, also, where he indulges in the habit, 
so common to travellers, of making use of that which they see 
and hear, in order to discover a thousand things which they 
can neither see nor hear ; of perverting those analogies, 
which are so sure when appHed to nature, and so uncertain 
when applied to man, unless the application be accompanied 
by a perfect knowledge of all the circumstances which vary 
and modify our nature in every form of society. He writes 
as a European, and consequently employs terms, that are 
not always adapted to the state of society which he describes. 
His kings are represented as surrounded by their gentlemen 
of attendance ; the queen, by her ladies. These, however, 
are but words, and their import is corrected by the whole 
tenor of the passages in which they are found. He evidently 
aims at nothing more, than a plain and faithful description of 
what he had done and seen. 

The letter closes with a cosmographical exposition of his 
voyage. From this we learn with what views he actually set 
out, and in what manner he had reasoned upon those wonder- 
ful discoveries which had produced so complete a revolution 
in the science of geography. The discovery of a passage to 
Cathay was the end that he proposed to accomplish ; and, 
though he was already convinced, that Europe and Asia were 
separated towards the west by a vast tract of intervening land, 
yet he felt equally sure that some strait must necessa- 
rily open a passage through it to India. He enters upon 
this disquisition with the zeal of a man confident in the sound- 
ness of his theories ; and, as the voyage which he had com- 
pleted was but a prelude to the greater undertakings which he 
had projected, he endeavours, by the exactness and fulness of 
his reasoning, to inspire his patron with the same feelings. 
The minute details and observations, of a character more 
strictly professional, had been carefully noted in another 



16 Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 

work, to which he refers for a fuller view of his nautical sys- 
tem. This work has unfortunately shared in the fate of all 
that belonged to Verrazzano, either having perished with its 
author, or being lost among the confused miscellanies of some 
French or Italian library. 

The return of the successful navigator was hailed with the 
warmest expressions of joy. All hopes of again seeing him 
had long been given over ; and many had lamented, and still 
more had blamed, the temerity, which had exposed him to a 
wretched death among the frozen waters of the Northern 
ocean. But no sooner was it known, that he had not only 
arrived in safety, but had actually succeeded in discovering an 
extensive tract of land, till then unknown even to the boldest 
navigators of the age, than he was greeted as a man of the 
highest powers, and worthy to be classed with the first mem- 
bers of his profession. The cupidity of commerce, also, was 
suddenly awakened. The result of his interview with the 
king was looked for with the greatest anxiety. Scarce any 
doubt was entertained concerning the success of his repre- 
sentations, or that he would be immediately despatched to 
prosecute his undertaking, with means better proportioned 
to its magnitude and importance. The merchants of Lyons 
were already revelling in visions of the wealth, that was to 
pour in upon them from these new sources. 

Whether, however, another voyage ever took place, or 
whether the plans of Verrazzano and his friends were 
thwarted by some sudden change in the feelings ©f^ilrancis, 
or by the disasters which followed the fatal battle of Pavia, are 
questions around which historians have drawn so thick a veil 
of doubts and contradictions, that it would be impossible to 
fix upon any opinion, that should appear equally satisfactory to 
all classes of readers. But, as all our knowledge of the rest of 
the life of Verrazzano is wholly dependent upon the solution 
of this question, we shall endeavour to state, as clearly and 
succinctly as is compatible with the nature of the subject, the 
principal points at issue, and the result of our own inquiries. 

Ramusio, a contemporary of Verrazzano, to whose care, as 
has already been said, we are indebted for the preservation of 
the only authentic document that we possess concerning him, 
positively asserts, that he set out a second time, in order to 
pursue his discoveries in the west.* The course and details 

- Ramusio, Tom. III. p. 438. 



Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 17 

of this voyage are not given ; but in Ramusio's time it was 
generally believed, that Verrazzano, upon landing on the coast, 
was overpowered by the natives, and eaten within sight of his 
companions. The scene of this horrid event is not known ; 
but the ship must have returned, or how could the fatal tidings 
have reached France? Such was the contemporary belief con- 
cerning the death of Verrazzano. The fate of Magellan and 
that of Cortoreal add not a little to its probability. 

This statement is contradicted by Charlevoix, who, how- 
ever, rejects only one part of it, the tragic end of Verrazzano.* 
He acknowledges that a second voyage was undertaken ; but 
says that nothing more was ever heard of the ship or of its 
creVv. He gives it out also as certain, that the mysterious 
fate of Verrazzano long deterred the French from making any 
new attempts in the career which he had opened. 

The next story is that advanced by the author of the 
Chronological Essay on the History of Florida. f This writer 
asserts, but upon what grounds it would be difficult to guess, 
that Verrazzano was taken by the Baskians in 1524, carried 
by them first to Seville, thence to Madrid, and there 
hanged. 

The most serious objection to the account given by Ramu- 
sio was advanced by Tiraboschi, in the short account of the 
life of Verrazzano, which he has inserted in the seventh vol- 
ume of his History of Italian Literature. It is founded upon a 
passage in one of the letters of Hannibal Caro, which had 
until then escaped the attention of all who had engaged in this 
obscure subject. The letter is addressed from Castro to the 
members of the household of Monsignor de' Gaddi ; and con- 
tains a humorous account of a journey which Caro was then 
making. I Addressing the different members of the family 
in turn, he proceeds thus; ''As for you, Verrazzano, a dis- 
coverer of new worlds and their wonders, I cannot as yet tell 
you any thing worthy of your map, for we have not thus far 
passed through any country, which had not been already dis- 

* Charlevoix, Tom. I. ut supra. 

t This work we have not seen, but quote from Tiraboschi. Vol. VII. p. 2(52. 
His quotation also appears to have been taken at second hand ; but it is 
acknowledged that the author brings no proof in confirmation of his asser- 
tion, a circumstance, which, in treating of facts so remote, and so va- 
riously related, would of itself be sufficient to cast strong suspicious upon 
his testimony. 

t " Delle Letters Familiari del com. Annibal Caro.' Venetia, 1587, 
apprcBSo Bernardo Giunti. Toifl. I. pp. 6, 7. 
3 



IS Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 

covered by you or by your brother." From this remarkable 
passage, Tiraboschi conjectures, that Giovanni himself, and 
not his brother, a person wholly unknown to the writers of 
the age, was the person addressed ; that, having been badly 
rewarded for his services to France, he had been constrained 
to seek a sustenance by taking service in the family of Bishop 
Gaddi ; and that consequently the statement of Ramusio, is 
incorrect ; or that the second voyage of which he speaks, 
took place much later than was generally supposed. He adds, 
however, that the uncertainty which hangs over the life of 
Verrazzano is so great, as to render it impossible to come to 
any satisfactory conclusion. 

Mr. Bancroft seems to have adopted the former of Tira- 
boschi 's conjectures. The passage, from an early work of 
Hakluyt, which he quotes from the recent Memoirs of Cabot, 
would seem to give grounds for a new supposition. But, as 
we have not been any more fortunate than Mr. Bancroft, in 
our attempts to get a sight of this work of Hakluyt, it is not 
in our power to judge how much credit may be due to it, or 
how far it may be reconcilable with the account of Ramusio. 

Each of these statements will doubtless seem more or less 
probable to different readers, according to their particular 
manner of weighing historical evidence. There are difficulties 
in all, which no process can reconcile, and which, whatever 
view we take of the subject, can hardly be gotten over. Yet 
on the other hand, so many circumstances seem to concur in 
favor of one statement and against all the others, that it is 
almost impossible to refrain from leaning decidedly towards it. 

The author of the Chronological Essay upon the History of 
Florida has not, as far as we have been able to ascertain, 
found a single follower. It may be said of Charlevoix, that 
the whole of that part of his work which relates to Verraz- 
zano, is exceedingly inaccurate and fanciful. He not only 
misrepresents his language, but, with the letter to Francis be- 
fore him, gives a wrong date to the voyage, placing it a year 
later than it really took place, and making Verrazzano guilty 
of the extravagance of addressing himself to Francis for en- 
couragement, at a time when that monarch was a prisoner in 
the hands of the Spanish, uncertain and anxious for his own 
fate. Neither does he pretend to tell us why, or by what 
authority, he so boldly rejects the narrative of Ramusio. 
He even attributes the interruption of the French voyages of 




Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 19 

discovery to the terror inspired by the fate of Verrazzano ; 
and, ahhoLigh this forms one of those pretty chains of cause 
and effect, with which some historians are fond of adorning 
their pages, yet for those who are disposed to beheve it, it 
may not be useless to observe, that this part, at least, applies 
equally well to Ramusio's account of the common belief of his 
age. 

The passage, which we have cited from the letters of Caro, 
is, as far as we know, the only argument that can be reason- 
ably urged against the current tradition. But even this admits 
of an explanation ; nor do we see the necessity of adopting 
the conjecture of Tiraboschi, although his authority be of 
the highest order. 

In the first place, the second conjecture of this acute critic, 
namely, that the last voyage of Verrazzano was subsequent to 
his residence in Rome, may be easily reconciled with the 
account given by Ramusio, who does not attempt to fix the 
date of this voyage. This, however, we must confess, seems 
highly improbable ; nor would it be so easy to account for 
the long silence in which Verrazzano was lost, during the 
thirteen years which had elapsed between his first voyage and 
the writing of Caro's letter. It seems far more probable, that 
he was immediately despatched upon his second expedition, 
while the enthusiam excited by the first was still warm, and 
before Francis had advanced into Italy upon his unfortunate 
attack on the Duchy of Milan. Verrazzano returned to 
France in July ; we learn by the letter of Carli, that he was 
expected at Lyons in August ; Francis entered Italy near 
the beginning of October, and his progress there was success- 
ful up to the 24th of February, in the following year, (1525,) 
on which day he was defeated and made prisoner in the battle 
of Pavia.* Thus there was time enough to have fitted out a 
small fleet, long before this last event ; nor was any thing more 
natural for a monarch like Francis, than to continue, during the 
exuberance of spirits produced by his own success, a career 
of adventure which promised such happy results to his king- 
dom. The representations also of the merchants of Lyons, 
who, as we learn from the letter of Carli, were anxious to 
open, by means of Verrazzano, a communication with the 
lands which he had discovered, mu3t have had some weight 

•Robertson, " Charles V." Book IV. Guicciardini, Lib. XV. Cap. 5. 



20 Life and Voyages of Verrazzano. 

with the King, even if success had not always been, with Fran- 
cis, a sufficient motive for engaging in enterprises far more 
hazardous and difficult. Nor was the honor, which would 
redound to him from the subjection of distant, territories, a 
slight consideration with one so full of the conceits of ancient 
chivalry ; nor the hope of sharing or eclipsing, in this new 
world, the glory of the Emperor, whose throne received such 
lustre from his vast possessions in the west, a prospect likely 
to escape the attention of a sovereign, whose whole life was 
one long contest with his hated rival. In short, there are, in 
the personal character of Francis and his subjects, and in the 
state of his affairs at the return of Verrazzano, so many rea- 
sons why the second voyage should have been immediately 
undertaken, that we know not how to refuse our belief to the 
contemporary writers who say that it was. 

The chief difficulty that remains, consists in the appellation 
of "discoverer" as applied to the brother of Verrazzano. But 
this is not so great, as would at first appear. In whatever 
way we read the passage, both as it stands in the edition cited 
by Tiraboschi and in the one before us, we must extend the 
honor of the title to both of the brothers. Giovanni was un- 
doubtedly the most celebrated ; and, as in the case of the 
Cabots, the glory of one member of the family may have 
thrown a shade over that of the other. But we can see no 
reason for supposing, upon the ground taken by Tiraboschi,* 
that no other than Giovanni can be here spoken of, when the 
appellation which should distinguish him is applied indiscrim- 
inately to both. Nor does it seem a slight confirmation of this 
view, that the active life, hitherto led by Giovanni, would hardly 
have admitted of his settling down in quiet indolence, among 
the attendants of a churchman, while the spirit of adventure 
was still in vigor in almost every part of Europe ; although, 
on the contrary, the knowledge of the horrid fate of a brother 
would naturally account for the abandonment of his profession 
by the individual, whose residence at Rome is placed beyond 
all doubt by the testimony of Caro. 

*" Che non siano state scoperte da voi o da vostro fratello." If the o 
were changed into e, Tiraboschi's conclusion would seem to be a neces- 
sary consequence of the passage ; but, as it now reads, and we have con- 
sulted more than one edition, it seems evident, that each of the brothers is 
meant to be spoken of, as an ori^jinal discoverer. That the name of the 
person addressed should stand first, is but a common form of epistolary 
courtesy. 



Life, and Voyages of Verrazzano, 21 

It would be superfluous to add, that we feel strongly dis- 
posed to accept the statement of Ramusio. Apart from its 
claims to belief as the current contemporary tradition, it 
should be observed, that it is not given with that appearance 
of indecision, with which a candid historian qualifies the narra- 
tion of uncertain events, but with that simple exactness with 
which we repeat a notorious and well-authenticated fact. 
When, moreover, we consider the zeal, with which Ramusio 
devoted the greater part of a long life to the subject of mar- 
itime discovery ; the opportunities which he enjoyed of de- 
riving his information from personal friends of Verrazzano ; 
his extensive correspondence with some of the most distin- 
guished navigators, as well as with many of the first literary 
men of the age ; and that his celebrated collection was made 
at no greater distance than Padua, where nothing short of 
the grossest negligence could have kept him in ignorance of 
the existence of Verrazzano, at Rome, but a iew years pre- 
vious, and in the family of a well-known prelate ; the ev- 
idence in favor of his correctness seems to be placed beyond 
all doubt. 

Yet, in spiteVf the concurrence of so Aiany circun^stanc^s, ^/!^•*2^'A 
theje are still doubts, arising T^om various trifling ibcideits^A^ j^^ 
competed with thX history of V)srrazzano,\vhich cons\rain lis 
to confess, that, while grasping at convictiWi, we ha\^e od- ^^ ^/^ * 
tained\nothing but ui^ertain, though perhaps probable ccinjej- C/ 
tures. All that we know with certainty, is, that one great ^^ ^y*^^ 
action distinguished him from the mass of adventurers, in an 
age which had produced a Columbus and a Cabot ; while 
doubt and mystery have enveloped the rest of his career, 
leaving us uncertain whether we should lament the untimely 
fate which gave him a prey to the barbarous appetite of can- 
nibals, or execrate the ingratitude which compelled him to 
sacrifice to a struggle with the daily necessities of life, a mind 
formed for daring and successful adventure. 



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